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Yes — Accessibility, and only that. Rectangle uses macOS Accessibility access to move and resize your windows with keyboard shortcuts. It does not touch your camera, mic, screen, or files. Accessibility is required for any window-management tool to function. To check on your Mac, open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, and review the Camera, Microphone, Screen & System Audio Recording, Accessibility, and Full Disk Access lists for Rectangle.

Security/App Permissions

Window Manager

Does Rectangle access your camera, mic, or screen?

Yes — Accessibility, and only that. Rectangle uses macOS Accessibility access to move and resize your windows with keyboard shortcuts. It does not touch your camera, mic, screen, or files. Accessibility is required for any window-management tool to function.

Rectangle's permission profile

Screen Recording
No
Microphone
No
Camera
No
Accessibility
Yes — used
Full Disk Access
No

“Used” = needed for a core feature · “Optional” = only for a specific feature · “No” = not normally requested

Why Rectangle requests these

Moving and resizing other apps' windows requires Accessibility — there's no other macOS API for it. Rectangle is open-source, so its use of the permission is auditable.

What to watch for

Accessibility can read and control other apps, so reserve it for tools you trust. Rectangle is reputable and open-source; still, download it from rectangleapp.com to avoid clones.

How to check Rectangle's permissions on your Mac

  1. 1Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
  2. 2Confirm Rectangle is listed (it needs this to work).
  3. 3Verify the app path matches your real install.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is it safe to give Rectangle Accessibility access?

Window managers genuinely require Accessibility to move windows. Rectangle is open-source and widely trusted, which makes the grant low-risk — but only install it from the official source.

See everything Rectangle (and every other app) can access

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